The average person has hundredsand some even have thousandsof online friends. The people we've welcomed into our social-media circle vie for our attention across a slew of social networks where we like, heart, and favorite their pictures, status updates, and videos. What was once a welcomed connection during a break in the day or a mobile moment alone is starting to feel like an obligation.

The problem with social media today is that we spend half our time jumping from one site to the next. We have our Instagram, our Twitter, our Facebook, our Vine, and our Tumblr, and that's just the start. Instead of actually digesting anything, we give all of them a quick spin and then remember that we have three more sites to check. It's a surprise that there isn't a Foursquare badge just for checking into social networks.

Then when we finish our tour, we post something of our own and we post it everywhere because we're not really sure which network it's best for or how much the audience on one network differs from the next. The same picture I put on Instagram I post on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Tumblr, Weibo, Tencent Weibo, and Pose. In doing so I know all too well I'm only adding to the noise out there but, hey, we all want to be heard in this jungle.

All this yelling from every direction gets stressful. Celebrities, our frequent avatars in life and stand-ins in stories, feel the pressure by an order of magnitude and sometimes it shows. There have been slow social-media burnouts and spectacular flame-outs among the stars. Some (James Franco and Alec Baldwin come to mind) have quit their social-media accounts, even a few times over. Others, like Ashton Kutcher, have publicly handed their accounts over to paid media companies to relieve some of the pressure.

Years ago I was one of the early adopters of social media in the otherwise closed-off and historically secretive fashion industry. I joined networks, I blogged, I tweeted, and I encouraged others in my industry to do the same. I was so thrilled to no longer just be the mute model on magazines and billboards but to finally have a voice and people listening to it. I've gotten so much out of social media but to be honest, it's all gotten to be a bit too much. I know I only have myself to blame but handling the daily feedback of my friends and colleagues and over 10 million followers across the 12 social networks that I update regularly is now a second full-time job.

There are times when I wish social networks would just friend each other and stop this battle to the death we see played out over APIs and terms-of-use documents. When Instagram ceased allowing posting to Twitter, I knew it was a downward spiral. Closing off APIs might work toward eliminating the competition, but ultimately it ends with losing users.

It was, in my eyes, a huge step in the wrong direction. In today's increasingly complex digital world we should see more interconnectivity between social sites, not less. Today no man is an island and no social network should act that way either. There have been plenty of apps and tools built to disseminate content over multiple social-media sites, why not the reverse? An app to collect, distill, and filter all social media steams so they're ready for human consumption. I think what we all could use is one cleaned-up, EPA-approved collective social stream where everyone plays nice. Within this stream Facebook albums, Twitter posts, Instagram pictures, and Vine videos would all flow smoothly and cleanly. To achieve this there would be filtered aggregation to ensure that I don't have to see multiple times that picture my cousin posted to all her social networks. Neither would I be shown the same news link that half a dozen of my friends all posted this last week.

With everything following in the same easy direction, there would be plenty of room for everyone and no stirring up of the current when a new platform comes along. Right now, though, we're fighting this deluge of muddy water and at this rate it's only so long before the dam breaks and we're all forced to evacuate.

About the Author

Coco Rocha is one of fashion’s most ubiquitous faces; she’s modeled for Marc Jacobs, Prada, Zac Posen, Chanel, Banana Republic and Balenciaga to name a few. Recently, she starred as a mentor on the reality television series, “The Face.” An avid techie and early adopter of social media, Rocha positioned herself as the world’s first digital supermode... See Full Bio

Get Our Best Stories!

This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.